Molecular genetics of sleep and circadian rhythms in Drosophila.
Genetics, molecular biology, cell culture, behavioral assays of fruit flies.
Behavior and physiology have daily rhythms that are controlled by an internal circadian clock. Our daily sleep:wake cycle is one prominent example. We are interested in understanding the molecular basis of circadian rhythms and sleep. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has emerged as a powerful model system for studying these molecular mechanisms. Several genes that regulate the circadian clock (and cause sleep disorders when mutated in humans) were first discovered in the fly. To identify additional components, we conduct genetic screens for circadian and sleep mutants and investigate the functions of the genes identified in the screens using a combination of behavioral assays and molecular, genetic, and cell biology techniques. For example, we recently discovered that a novel gene (which we named “jetlag”) is essential for resetting the Drosophila clock in response to light by targeting a core clock protein called TIMELESS for degradation.
KEY WORDS:
Circadian Rhythms; Sleep; Light entrainment; Aging
Koh K, Zheng X, and Sehgal A. (2006). JETLAG resets the Drosophila circadian clock by promoting light-induced degradation of TIMELESS. Science. 312, 1809-1812.
Koh K, Evans JM, Hendricks JC, and Sehgal A. (2006). A Drosophila model for age-associated changes in sleep:wake cycles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 103, 13843-13847.
